Majors

Best Colleges for Studio Art, by Earnings

943 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Studio Art, about 22,877 degrees a year. Across the 395 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $41,784 four years after finishing.

Rank	College	State	Median earnings, 4 years out	Degrees a year	Acceptance rate
1	University of Southern California	CA	$72,428	55	9.8%
2	Dartmouth College	NH	$68,523	32	5.4%
3	University of Michigan	MI	$66,846	172	15.6%
4	Vassar College	NY	$63,418	18	18.6%
5	Sacred Heart University	CT	$61,998	15	65.4%
6	Connecticut College	CT	$61,321	17	37%
7	Brown University	RI	$60,985	59	5.4%
8	Fordham University	NY	$60,515	49	59.3%
9	Binghamton University	NY	$60,299	51	38.6%
10	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	CA	$59,721	58	31.3%
11	Virginia Tech	VA	$58,652	59	54.8%
12	Loyola Marymount University	CA	$58,468	59	45.1%
13	University of Pittsburgh	PA	$57,705	38	58.1%
14	CUNY Hunter College	NY	$56,160	98	53.8%
15	Miami University-Oxford	OH	$55,891	24	75.4%
16	University of Maryland	MD	$55,713	70	44.8%
17	Marist University	NY	$55,296	35	56.5%
18	Manhattanville University	NY	$55,180	10	87.3%
19	Williams College	MA	$55,012	40	8.3%
20	Bridgewater College	VA	$54,910	9	91.7%
21	Howard University	DC	$54,696	17	41.3%
22	University of Virginia	VA	$54,579	46	16.8%
23	James Madison University	VA	$54,093	115	71.5%
24	Moravian University	PA	$54,090	13	54.2%
25	North Carolina State University	NC	$54,007	24	41.7%
26	University of Washington	WA	$53,805	139	39.1%
27	Carnegie Mellon University	PA	$53,726	13	11.7%
28	St Lawrence University	NY	$53,720	15	54.3%
29	Kenyon College	OH	$53,620	31	31%
30	Skidmore College	NY	$53,602	44	21.1%
31	University of Georgia	GA	$53,300	148	37.7%
32	University of Vermont	VT	$53,191	34	65.3%
33	University of Massachusetts-Lowell	MA	$52,637	21	83%
34	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	NJ	$52,450	54	58.1%
35	Rutgers University-Camden	NJ	$52,450	31	66.3%
36	Rutgers University-Newark	NJ	$52,450	28	71.4%
37	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus	OK	$52,405	38	75%
38	Texas Woman's University	TX	$52,306	23	96.1%
39	University of California-Berkeley	CA	$51,699	127	11%
40	Illinois State University	IL	$51,386	97	88.2%
41	University of Missouri	MO	$51,254	36	78.5%
42	The College of New Jersey	NJ	$51,033	79	62.3%
43	University of Connecticut	CT	$50,952	40	52.4%
44	Texas Tech University	TX	$50,892	44	72.7%
45	Adelphi University	NY	$50,759	24	65.9%
46	Pace University	NY	$50,623	35	75.9%
47	Salem State University	MA	$50,397	6	95.9%
48	CUNY Lehman College	NY	$50,334	44	56.6%
49	Baylor University	TX	$50,253	17	51.3%
50	University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh	WI	$50,189	31	86.5%
51	University of Utah	UT	$50,166	47	86%
52	Shepherd University	WV	$50,124	24	96.8%
53	Michigan State University	MI	$50,098	25	84.8%
54	University of Wisconsin-Stout	WI	$49,967	22	87.7%
55	Midwestern State University	TX	$49,896	15	93.5%
56	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus	CO	$49,842	82	74.7%
57	University of Massachusetts-Boston	MA	$49,722	14	83.8%
58	Boston University	MA	$49,538	42	11.1%
59	University of Nebraska at Kearney	NE	$49,521	14	89.5%
60	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater	WI	$49,506	25	85.7%
61	New York University	NY	$49,478	89	7.7%
62	Hofstra University	NY	$49,233	16	68.1%
63	University of Wisconsin-Madison	WI	$48,684	68	45.2%
64	University of California-San Diego	CA	$48,506	57	26.7%
65	Winona State University	MN	$48,258	14	75.5%
66	Towson University	MD	$48,238	128	82%
67	Plymouth State University	NH	$48,229	17	87.5%
68	Utah State University	UT	$48,180	51	92.5%
69	Salve Regina University	RI	$48,067	13	68.2%
70	University of Memphis	TN	$48,064	61	72%
71	Minnesota State University-Mankato	MN	$47,822	31	88.4%
72	University of Texas at Austin	TX	$47,730	112	26.6%
73	University of North Texas	TX	$47,639	256	72.2%
74	Saint Cloud State University	MN	$47,619	15	94.8%
75	Biola University	CA	$47,596	19	74.4%
76	University of Colorado Boulder	CO	$47,297	69	78.1%
77	Kennesaw State University	GA	$47,221	98	69.2%
78	Rowan University	NJ	$47,176	50	77.7%
79	The University of Texas at Arlington	TX	$47,106	138	79.9%
80	Ohio State University	OH	$46,899	74	60.6%
81	Keene State College	NH	$46,850	17	90.3%
82	University of Central Florida	FL	$46,779	140	40.1%
83	Montana State University	MT	$46,741	47	82.1%
84	Florida Atlantic University	FL	$46,606	75	66.1%
85	University of Northern Colorado	CO	$46,502	43	85.9%
86	University of California-Santa Barbara	CA	$46,428	122	33%
87	University of Wyoming	WY	$46,371	23	96.9%
88	Old Dominion University	VA	$46,308	47	90.4%
89	Lindenwood University	MO	$46,244	7	56.8%
90	University of California-Los Angeles	CA	$46,173	158	9%
91	California State University-East Bay	CA	$46,136	110	97.4%
92	North Dakota State University-Main Campus	ND	$46,117	8	95%
93	University of Massachusetts-Amherst	MA	$46,027	52	59.7%
94	Sonoma State University	CA	$46,022	35	93.4%
95	Western Kentucky University	KY	$45,957	45	93.9%
96	East Carolina University	NC	$45,817	83	89.2%
97	Bridgewater State University	MA	$45,747	47	87.8%
98	New England College	NH	$45,694	12	92.1%
99	CUNY City College	NY	$45,656	106	60%
100	University of West Georgia	GA	$45,644	36	51.6%

Showing the top 100 of 395 colleges that report earnings. 548 more colleges award this degree but have no earnings figure, usually because the program is small.

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Frequently asked questions

Which college has the highest-paid Studio Art graduates?

University of Southern California ($72,428), Dartmouth College ($68,523), University of Michigan ($66,846), Vassar College ($63,418), Sacred Heart University ($61,998) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.

How much do Studio Art majors make?

The median across 395 colleges is $41,784 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $16,981 to $72,428.

Which colleges have the biggest Studio Art programs?

By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: School of the Art Institute of Chicago (581), California State University-Long Beach (456), California State University-Fullerton (433), California State University-Northridge (324), University of North Texas (256).

Does a higher-earning program mean a better program?

Not on its own. Earnings reflect where graduates live, what jobs they take, and who enrolled in the first place, as well as the teaching. The figures cover only graduates who received federal financial aid, and small programs are left out, so a college missing from this list may still have a strong department.

Source: College Scorecard, Most Recent Data by Field of Study (U.S. Department of Education), 2026-06-10 release, federal program category "Fine and Studio Arts". Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal financial aid, working and not enrolled, four years after a bachelor's degree.